Meet The Iranian-American Motivating This NBA Player

John Jenkins, the former 2012 first-round pick of the Atlanta Hawks is more motivated than ever to find an NBA team to play for.

At 26, he is desperately trying to find a roster spot on an NBA team. He was one of 24 players invited to Toronto earlier this month as part of a two-day, three-session open tryout for the Toronto Raptors. Jenkins has had at least 6 tryouts in June, including one with the Dallas Mavericks. Suffice it to say, he’s hungry to earn a roster spot.

“For me, I’ve been in the league,” Jenkins said. “It’s my sixth year in (Summer League), so for me it’s trying to get on a camp (roster) or even get a guaranteed deal.”

While the thought of an NBA paycheck and opportunity to play basketball with the world’s best drive most players to relentlessly pursue their NBA dream, Jenkins may have recently found the greatest motivation of all. Her name is Soraya.

Jenkins, who less than year ago married his long-time Iranian-American girlfriend Yasmin, recently welcomed to the world a beautiful baby girl, Soraya Jenkins. We wish John, Yasmin, and 4 week-old Soraya good health, happiness…and a spot on an NBA roster!

A post shared by John Jenkins (@johnnycash_12) on Aug 26, 2016 at 10:52am PDT

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